Eternal

I am posting my 25th book, Eternal, a book of poems, to encourage you to check the interior on Amazon.com. Poetry books fill the soul. I read them when I need renewal, a moment to catch my breath or when I want to be reminded of the moments that really matter in love, nature, overcoming, or just about anything else. My publisher, PublishPros.com, designed the interior to encourage a feeling of peace on every page while you are reading each poem. I am so pleased with it.

Late at night, when I can’t fall asleep, I often reach for Robert Haas, W. S. Merwin, Mary Oliver, Carl Sandburg or Rilke. They have pulled me out of ennui, sadness, and disconnection. So, poetry is important but so is the design of the book which leads itself to the soul of its contents.

When you are finished with the internal content of your book, check out other books to see how authors built the structure for their words. I often spend hours in Barnes & Noble doing nothing but examining covers, where they put comments from readers, how they structured the About the Author Page. I am quick to put a book down if I don’t see a photo of the author. I do like a face to go with the written voice. It is not an ego thing; it is a connection thing.

Sometimes all I do is read first sentences. Boy can that take a full day, but it is worth it. I once took one of my classes on a trip to the bookstore. All we did was jot down titles, authors, first and last sentences. Then we went to lunch and read our lists. I can’t tell you how many of us left with a list of books that we were pulled to because of those sentences.

People who don’t write books, think I’m nuts for spending my time this way but I believe, as an author, it is far more productive than social media in which people read and write gossip and spew hate. I am not interested in that.

My newest book Still, a book of haiku, has come out this week, unfortunately, I do not have a copy of the cover for you yet. I will soon. I promise. It too has an interior design for the mood of the book. Check it out. And, I send you blessings for your writing project.

Keep the pen moving,

Jan